Carpet fastener



Oct. 21, 1952 A. c. EICHIN 2,614,284

CARPET FASTENER Fil ed Jan. 10, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 A. C. EICHIN CARPET FASTENER Oct. 21, 1952 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 flrwolcl 635' 5666 12;

Filed Jan. 10, 1949 Patented Oct. 21, 1952 UNI TED STATES PATENT :iOE PiFlI CARPET FASTENER Arnold JG. Eiehin, .Elmhurst, 111., -fas'signor to i'Arnold C. Eichin, Incorporated; Chicago, =*Ill.,:-:a corporation of.- Illinois Application J anuaryl 0, 1949;:SeriaYN'o. '2f0'i1'2'l) 7:.Claims.

This "invention rela'tes -to mprovements in ia carpet fastening device particularly adaptedifer use in the laying of stair carpet.

It is an object'of myinvention to-produce a carpet fastenerparticularly for useinlaying stair carpet which shall "function -to draw the carpet tightly into 'the joint between the i riser aan'd the tread and-hold the-carpet securely in 'such'rp'osition. v

It is aiurther 'obje'ct o'f the' invention to provide a device -'of 'the character described which shall be ofsimp1e and 'relativelyinexpensiveconstruct-ion -'so that it may be left in place :in the stairs, ccnceale'd by' 'th'e carpet.

Still another objectiof theinvention istoiprovide -a carpet iastener which 'e'asily roperiabl'e to release the carpet from the 'holding idevice whenever it' is desired-to tal e upt:the carpet for cleaning ormoving.

still-another object-tithe invention istto pro= vide a carpet fastening device comprised of 'two hingedly connected memb'ers adapted to lie against the riser and 'the tread and which are provided with a simple I manually: operable: mechanism for changing their angular relation I so as tightly to ""draw the earpet into place and -securely tohold' 'i-t.

O'ther *obj'ects f" the invention and the a'dvantages thereof will 'more ifully :be brought out as thedescriptmn of theinventionzproceeds.

In the accompanying drawings, 1 haveillustrated a practical embodiment ef *my invention but" it' i's to be -'understoo'd that the drawingszare illustrativemerely ancl that I 'do not confine 'myself "to :the particular lietai-ls of eonstruc'tmn shown-J therein. Once the principle or the" invention 1s: understood, it will readily oc'cur to' -those skilled in the "art 'how its structural "features may be "changed without sacrificing the f advantages of the invention *or departing from the scope-thereof as: defined in' the appended claims.

' Fig. 1 is "a'-fragmentaryview in=perspective of a "portion of a stair with a *part of i the carpet broken *away to show thelocatioh of my ear-pet fastening-device; v

Fig. '2 is a sectional viewonan enlarged'scale, taken substantiallyon line 2'-"2-df-Fig. 1;

'3 is a sectiona'l view similar to Fig. but showing thep'arts ofth'e 'fas'tenin'g device in 'the initial position 'they "occupy before they are brought to thepos'ition ofFigf'Z;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view showing the operatingmechanism in'theppen'pos'ition it will oc-cupy whenthe parts areas-'shown=in-Fig."3;

Fig. 6* is "aplan" view I of the-operating mecha- "pa'rts bhig broken away *to show the interior'construction; and

. L'Fig. is :a view :similar' to 'Fig. i6 =showing 'the z operating mehanismin closed or l'ockd pesition.

"Referring Y new to the drawings, my tastening device comprises-a pair 'o'f'members l0 "and H which are preferably' 'made of metal of =-sufiieient gauge to give --'them -'streng-t-h an'd rigidity, -yet light enough to reduce cost and make jthem easy to'han'dle.

It willbe'ebserved from an inspection of Figs? and 3 that the'saidmembers [0 and I I- are'somewhat bent or bowed longitudinally and substantially centrally mr a purpose '-'presently to be indicated.

' The members Hi and H are'inte'rconnectedby suitable hinges l2 which are prferablyinteg'rally formed'with the said members.

The hinges are provided with *springs 13 *(see Fig. 5) which tend to hold said mernbers loiand l l in the open'position shown "in 3.

Each of the members F0 =and H is provid'e'd with a plurality of carpet engaging "hooks or points I '4 i which are preferably'formed by cutting out port-ions cf 'sai'd members [0 and l I and then swaging saidcut-out portions into 'the form "df hooks or points as shown in'th'e'drawings.

It'will be noted that "the shape of the-said points "or hooks 14 is such that; whenconsidere'd in conjunction with the'bent or bowed part of the members I 0 and II, saidhooks engage the lower surface of the carpet in'themanner'shown in' -Figf2.

In order to operate I the device so as to force themeniberslll and II from the 'positionshown inF-ig. 3 'to'that shown in Fig. 2,'I employ a pair of operating devices generally indicatedby the reference numeral l5, 'there'being one such device at each 'end of themembers. Each'of said operating devices ['5 comprises a metal member bent substantially at right angles "to "provide a vertically extending portion I 6 whichpwhen'iithe device is in 'position,will 'lie "against the stair riser, as shown in Figs. 2' and 3. "At its upper end, "the part It is provided with a heck ll adapted to-entera' slot I8 formed near'the upper edge of the member ll. Said part l'6 also'has a pair of hook-like -mernbers 19 which engage over the top edge of the part [6.

The'horlzontally extending 'part of the "operator 15 is indicated'by the're'ference numeral-'20. Said -part ZU is'provided 'with a slot 2| which forms "a-guideior the movement of a pressure member 22 which has "upwardly extendingprojections adapted to engage the forward "edge 'df themeniber 10.

It will thus'b'e seen that the operatingmember has a 'part engaging 'the'upp'er edge of the member I l "and another part engaging the. forward edge of themember l'll. By"manipu1ation, as presently to be described, "pressure i's applied to the two edges df" the-members I l] and 1| lssoas to icausefs-them to swing about the hinges 12 from the position shown in Fig. 3 to the position shown in Fig. 2. As is evident from an inspection of these figures, said members i and II initially extend away from each other at an angle of more than 90. In the operation of the device, it is desirable to bring said members together so that when in operative position they will be at an angle of 90 or less to each other.

This is accomplished by moving the member 22 in the slot 21 of the operating members [5. By particular reference to Figs. 6 and 7, it will be seen that the member 22 is pivoted as at 23 to an operating lever 24. Said lever 24 is pivoted at 25 to a link 26 which, in turn, is pivoted at 21 to the member 20.

Thus, as viewed in Fig. 6, the member 22 is at the forward end of the slot 2| and the operating lever 24 extends outwardly. When said lever 24 is moved inwardly, its pivoted end 23 moves rearwardly so that the member 22, pressing against the member 10, moves the latter into position substantially horizontally with respect to the stair tread. Tlze closed or operative position of the operating device is that shown in Fig. '7.

In the operation of the device, one of my fasteners will be provided for each joint between a tread and riser. The devices are adapted to be left in place and consequently the length of each device is somewhat less than the width of ordinary stair carpet (usually 27 inches) sothat when the carpet is in place the fastening device will be concealed.

The first step in the application of the inven tion is to secure the operating devices in place. For this purpose each device is provided with an opening through which a suitable fastening element, such as screws 28, may pass into the joint between the tread and the riser as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. It will be understood, of course, that the hooks H have been passed through the slots H3 in the vertical member H so that they will be accurately placed. When this is done the device will occupy the position shown in Fig. 3. Then the operator pulls down on the carpet so that the hooks [4 enter into the lower layer or bottom surface of the carpet. When this is being done, the operating devices are in the position shown in Fig. 6, that is to say, with the operating levers 24 extending outwardly.

Now all that the operator has to do is to move the levers 24 inwardly, thus causing the engaging members 22 to travel in the slot 2!, hereby forcing the members it and I l to swing about the hinges I2 against the action of the springs f3 until they occupy the position shown in Fig. 2.

During this movement the carpet is stretched over the projecting edge of the upper tread and down along the riser and is firmly held in that position by the operating or 1ocking devices.

To remove the carpet, as for cleaning, or when it is desired to shift the carpet where the tread surface has been worn, it is necessary only to reach under the carpet and grasp the levers 24 and swing them outwardly to the position shown in Fig. 6. When this is done, it is very easy and simple to lift the carpet from the impaling hooks l4.

Inspection of Fig. 2 will make it plain that the said hooks it are so related to the bent surfaces of the members it and H that said hooks M will penetrate the carpet only sufficiently to hold it securely and will not pass clear through as is done with other devices.

The use of my device will make the laying of stair carpet much easier than has heretofore 4 been possible. It will obviate large and unsightly carpet tacks which also very often ruin the stair carpet by making large holes in it.

Once my devices have been installed, they will last as long as the stairs and can therefore be employed from time to time as stair carpet is changed.

Considering the ease of installation, and the rapid and secure way in which the carpet is stretched and held in place, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that I have provided a device of great utility and economy. Its ad vantages will also be especially appreciated when the time comes to lift the carpet which can be done more easily and effectively with my device than any other securing means with which I am familiar.

I claim as my invention:

1. A stair carpet fastener comprising a pair of hinged members, each of which is bent longitudinally, carpet-engaging projections on said members along the bend therein, and means for drawing said members together whereby said carpet-engaging projections engage the lower surface of the carpet and draw the same tightly into the joint between said members.

2. A stair carpet fastener comprising a pair of hingedly connected carpeting-engaging members, one of said members adapted to lie against the riser and the other against the tread, and mechanism operable to change the angular relation of said members, said mechanism comprising a part lying against the riser and connected to the first mentioned member and another part lying against the tread and slidably engaging the secend mentioned member.

3. A stair carpet fastener comprising a pair of hingedly connected members, one of which is adapted to lie against the riser and the other against the tread, carpet-engaging projections on said members, and mechanism connecting said members at their ends and operable to swing said members toward each other about their hinges whereby said carpet-engaging projections may enter a carpet and draw the same tightly toward the joint between said members.

4. A stair carpet fastener comprising a pair of hingedly connected carpet-engaging members, one of said members adapted to lie against the riser and the other against the tread, spring means urging said members apart and away from the riser and the tread, and manually operable means for moving said members against the action of said spring means substantially into contact with the riser and the tread.

5. A stair carpet fastener comprising a pair of hingedly connected carpet-engaging members, one of said members adapted to lie against the riser and the other against the tread, spring means urging said members apart and away from the riser and the tread, manually operable means for moving said members against the action of said spring means substantially into contact with the riser and the tread, said manually operable means comprising a bracket having a portion lying against the riser and engaging on of said members and a portion lying against the tread and having a pressure element slidably engaging the other member.

6. A stair carpet fastener adapted to be secured at the juncture of a stair tread and an upstanding riser, comprising a pair of hingedly connected longitudinal carpet-engaging members, spring means urging said members to an open position, a pair of spaced apart L-shaped brackets adapted to be secured to the juncture of a stair tread and a riser, means secured to the upper end of each of the upstanding legs of said L-shaped brackets pivotally supporting one of the members of said pair of hinged members at opposite longitudinal ends thereof, a pressure member for each of said brackets engaging the other of the members of said pair of hinged members and slidably mounted for movement between first and second positions along the horizontal leg of said L-shaped brackets to move said hinged members from said open position toward each other against the bias of said spring means to a closed position, and a pair of manually operable levers pivotally mounted respectively on each of the horizontal legs of said L-shaped brackets selectively controlling movement of said pressure members between said first and said second positions.

7. A stair carpet fastener adapted to be secured at the juncture of a stair tread and an upstanding riser, comprising a pair of hingedly connected longitudinal carpet-engaging members, spring means urging said members to an open position, a pair of spaced apart L-shaped brackets adapted to be secured to the juncture of a stair tread and a riser, means secured to the upper end of each of the upstanding legs of said L- shaped brackets pivotally supporting one of the members of said pair of hinged members at opposite longitudinal ends thereof, a pressure member for each of said brackets engaging the other of the members of said pair of hinged members and slidably mounted for movement between first and second positions along the horizontal leg of said L-shaped brackets to move said hinged members from said open position toward each other against the bias of said spring means to a closed position, a pair of manually operable levers pivotally mounted respectively on each of the horizontal legs of said L-shaped brackets, selectively controlling movement of said pressure members between said first and said second positions, and. teeth on said pair of members adapted to grasp a fold in the stair carpet and to draw it toward the juncture of the stair tread and the riser as said hinged members are moved from open to closed positions.

ARNOLD C. EIC'HIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:,'

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 458,682 Fleischmann Sept. 1, 1891 648,976 Mourad May 8, 1900 913,159 Petrie et a1 Feb. 23, 1909 1,284,244 Cole Nov. 12, 1918 1,971,218 Hoobler Aug. 21, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 18,531 Australia Mar. 4, 1930 50,454 Austria Oct. 25, 1911 

